This classic chicken salad recipe with grapes and nuts is a catch-all idea for any potluck lunch or duty-calls bridal or baby shower that’s oh-so-divine.
I don’t know if I’ve been to a bridal or wedding shower where chicken salad stuffed in croissants wasn’t served. Don’t tell the bride, but those little chicken sandwich pockets might be my favorite part of the party.
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This is my take on the classic chicken salad recipe. First, my fave chicken salad has to have tender, shredded lean white chicken breast with plenty of crunchy celery and toasted almonds.
Just like in Whole Foods Market’s Sonoma Chicken Salad, red grapes add plump bites of sweetness with a touch of red onion for added heat.
Finally, add dollops of my super simple lemon-spiked mayo dressing mixed in and this chicken salad party is good to go.
There’s nothing complicated about this chicken salad, just a few basic ingredients that when combined together, make THE BEST chicken salad recipe. Just ask my daughter, she’ll say it’s so.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- Instead of chunks, I like my chicken to be super shredded in chicken salad. Rotisserie chicken seems to shred the easiest for me and always tastes moist.
- Chop the vegetables into small pieces to get more crunch in each bite.
- Toast the almonds for more flavor. Add the nuts to a dry pan, heat to medium-high, and toast the nuts while tossing often until fragrant and golden.
Classic Chicken Salad Ingredients
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Cooked chicken breast — Cook a rotisserie chicken, pick one up from the grocery store, or poach or bake a few chicken breasts.
- Celery— For an irresistible crunch.
- Red onion — Adds a little heat to balance out the creamy dressing.
- Red grapes — You can leave the grapes whole, but I like to cut them in half so they go further and look pretty in the salad.
- Slivered almonds — Toast them for maximum flavor if you have time.
- Dressing — There are plenty of different ways to make the dressing for chicken salad, but I’m keeping this recipe super simple with a good quality mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, kosher salt with freshly ground black pepper. That’s it.
Heidi’s Tip: If mayo isn’t your thing, I suggest making my Greek yogurt chicken salad instead.
Ingredient Substitutions and Additions
- Add dried curry powder or poppy seeds
- Try adding fresh herbs like chopped tarragon or dill
- Use dried cranberries or pomegranates instead of grapes
- Add chopped egg
- Substitute Greek yogurt or Miracle Whip for the mayonnaise
- Add 1 tablespoon of rice or champagne vinegar to thin the dressing
- Try toasted pecans or walnuts instead of almonds
- Use a good quality canned chicken breast if needed
- Add some Dijon mustard for a bit of tang
- Mix in chopped pickles and a splash of pickle juice to make dill pickle chicken salad
How to Make Classic Chicken Salad
- Cook and shred the chicken. To save time, I purchase a rotisserie chicken from the store and shred it using two forks.
- Whisk together the dressing. The creamy dressing is a simple combo of mayo, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Bring it all together. Toss everything together in a large bowl. For best results, let the chicken salad hang out in the fridge for 30 minutes to give the flavors time to meld.
Heidi’s Tip: If you are a fan of Miracle Whip, stir in 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar to the mayo to sweeten things up.
Serving Suggestions
There are plenty of ways to serve this old-fashioned chicken salad to delight every eater:
- Serve in croissants or on toasted thick cuts of whole wheat bread, or make lettuce wraps for a low-carb option
- Mound chicken salad on top of fresh lettuce or cooked rotini pasta (or both!) for an easy salad
- Nestle a scoop of chicken salad in avocado halves
- Scoop out the center of a large tomato or cooked artichoke and stuff it with chicken salad
Storage and Make Ahead Tips
One of the many things I like about this recipe is it doesn’t get watery when made ahead of time.
Made ahead of time, this salad lasts for 4-5 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or as long as you feel your chicken will stay fresh.
Sides to Serve with Chicken Salad
- Potato chips, tortilla chips, veggie sticks, fresh fruit
- Berry Fruit Salad
- Herbed Parmesan Crisps
- Simple Arugula Salad
- Zucchini Fritters
- Smashed Cucumber Salad
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Classic Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast , about 1 pound chicken breast
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup red grapes , halved
- ⅓ cup chopped red onion
- ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- To a medium size bowl, add the shredded chicken, chopped celery, grapes, onions, and almonds.
- In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the lemon juice and salt and pepper.
- Add the mayo mixture to the bowl with the chicken and mix well. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your taste. Serve the chicken salad on croissants or bread, or over salad greens.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Potluck Salads
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Tricia
This is a winner! Everyone loves it.
Thank you Tricia! It’s so good in so many ways.
Nancy
Pretty much the way I make mine … I do add cranberry raisins.
Karen
Delicious. Periodt.
Sabrina
this is nice, like the grapes too, almonds and red onions also for taste and for texture, better than my current crop of salad recipes, so thank you